The star is located about 90 light years from Earth and might be visible under exceptionally good conditions to an experienced observer without technical aid; usually binoculars are needed.
Gumala is a Malay word, which means a magic bezoar stone found in snakes, dragons, etc.
[11] HD 179949 has been classified as a BY Draconis variable, which varies in brightness due to rotational modulation of spots on the surface.
[17] Planets close to their stars have high chances of transit, but photometric observations of HD 179949 ruled out this possibility.
[18] In 2014, infrared observations of the system with the CRIRES instrument, at the Very Large Telescope, directly detected the thermal spectrum of the planet, revealing absorption features of carbon monoxide and water vapor in its atmosphere.